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W. X. STEVENS.

HOSE GUARD POR RAILWA'YS. No. 310,331. Patented Jan. 6,' 1835.

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nire STATES Parent* OFFICE.

VILLIAM X. STEVENS, OF VASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

HOSE-GUARD FOR RAILWAYS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 310,331, dated January 6, 1885.

Application iiled December 11, 1884. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.;

Be itknown that I, WILLIAM X. STEVENS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Washington, in the District of Columbia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Hose-Guards for Railways 5 and I do hereby declare the .following to be a.- full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to railways; and it has for its object to provide means whereby hose which are connected with hydrants or engines for extinguishing fires, &c., may cross a car-track without interrupting the passage of cars or being damaged thereby.

To this end my invention consists in a pas. sage for one or morelines of hose beneath a railway, constituting a hose-guard, as hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which- 4Figure l is a transverse vertical section of a portion of a tractionrailway, showing my invention. Fig.A 2 is a plan view of the same, showing three lines of hose as though coming from different hydrants or engines and crossing the track .through one of my hose-guards, Fig. 3 shows a modification of my hose-guard serving in this case as a pipe to connect two lengths of hose beneath a track.

A represents the rails of a railway, and B any style of traction apparatus to propel the cars thereon.

C is my hose-guard, consisting of a passage for hose F, made beneath the rails and other portions of the railway whose operation would be interfered with by a hose lying over them. This guard may be made in anyway in which it shall be strong enough to preserve its integrity beneath the usual traflic of the locality. I think the best method of construction would be to form iron pipes in the proper curve to cross beneath the track, lowest at the center, perforated,as at D,to permit the escape of any water which might gather therein,and capped at the ends flush with the street-level, that it might not interfere with the passage of teams. These caps G may be secured in any usual way 5 but as a matter of safety and convenience 5o they should be locked in a manner similar to hydrantcovcrs, that they may be unlocked by the same devices as those used by remen to operate the hydrants.

E represents loose stones laid below the outlet D, to facilitate the escape of water into the earth.

It would generally be policy to make each of these guards wide enough to permit the passage through it of three or four lines of hose at the same time, as this would frequently prevent the necessity of firemen running to a distance to iind guards enough to pass all the required hose through. It would also be policy to place a guard beneath a railway opposite to each hydrant in a crowded city. Another and probably a cheaper method would be to form the gua-rd of concrete around a pattern-core supported freely in a suitably-shaped trench, then remove the core when the concrete is firml y set, and provide the ends with iron caps to stand the street wear. The guards may also be made of pipe-clay, of bricks, of stones, or any suitable material, so that a safe passage for hose is formed from the street-level on one side of the railway and beneath the railway to the street-level on the other side thereof. They may be arranged to pass under one track or more, as the case may require. They may be quickly cleaned of any dirt by throwing in a stream of water from a hose-pipe.

A modification of this hose-guard is shown in Fi g. 3, consisting of a section of pipe pro vided at each end with connections whereby hose may be coupled directly to it, thus constituting a connection between lengths of hose across beneath the track and guarding the hose and track both effectual ly. At crossings of roads one wide guard placed diagonally beneath the crossing of the tracks might answer for both tracks. In case the crossing requires a guard so long that a hose cannot be readily pushed through it, an elastic rod with aloop at the end to carry the end of the hose may be used to assist its passage; or each long guard may be provided with a rope having a loop at each end, by which thek hose may be drawn through. When the hose is withdrawn, the rope may be drawn back into the guard thereby, and there left for future use 5 but I prefer to provide each guard with a rope, J, about twice as long as the guard and secured thereto at each end, so that the rope IOO will remain in the guard within reach at each end thereof. In this case the rope may be provided near its middle with a suitable loop, K, or agrapple or holder of any kind lto fasten upon the end of hose, whereby the hose may be hauled either way through the guard.

This hose-guard is adapted for use in crossing all railways which traverse the streets of cities, whether they are horsecar, traction, or locomotive roads, and its Value will be appreciated by all who have seen long lines of cars stopped by hose crossing over the track. YrIhis frequently occurs when the re Yitself would not have interfered with eartravel. Such delays frequently deprive a railwa company of enough of their earnings during the stoppage at one fire to pay the cost of tting their whole line with these hose-guards opposite every hydrant on the route.

I am aware that various kinds of passages have been formed beneath railways and that the rails sometimes lie high enough above ground to permit the passage of a line of hose under them; but these are not such as would meet the present requirement.

The constant and varied use of the public streets demands that rails,when located there in, shall be level with the street, offering no material impediment to travel, and that there shall be no pit-holes dangerous to teams. My invention accomplishes its purpose within these requirements.

Vhat I claim as my invention, and desire to ,secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. The combination, with a railway in a street, of a hose-guard consisting of a covered passage extending beneath the track from the street at one side thereof to the street at the other side thereof, substantially as shown and described.

2. The combination, with a railway in a street, of a hose-guard consisting of a coyered passage extending beneath the track from the street at' one side thereof to the street at the other side thereof, and covers removably secured over the ends of the passage, practically lush with the street, substantially as shown and described.

3. The combination, with a railway in a street, of a pipe or passage crossing beneath the rails and opening each side thereof at the street-level, substantially as described.

4t.- The combination, with a pipe crossing beneath a railway and curved downward midway, of an outlet for water in the lower part of the curve, substantially as shown and dcscribed.

A hoseguard crossing beneath a railway, substantially as described.

6. Thecombination,with apassage-crossing beneath a railway, ofa rope within thepassage, secured near each end thereot,and abouttwiee as long as the passage, substantially as and for the purpose speeitied.

7. The combination, with a passageverossing beneath a railway, of a rope within the passage, secured near each end thereof, and about twice as long as the passage, and a loop or equivalent device near the middle of the rope for attaching the same to a hose, substantially as described, for the purpose speci` fied.

In testimony whereof I aihx my signature in presence of two witnesses.

VILLIAM X. STEVENS.

fitnessesn C. A. NELE, It. E. GRANT. 

